Are you Alice?
by rawrU
Summary: Wonderland AU. John's father ends up getting deathly ill, and John doesn't know what to do or how to help him. But maybe the stranger with the rabbit ears can help. Maybe Wonderland has something that can help John, maybe Wonderland can ask more questions than it can answer.


John sat posed in front of the bathroom mirror. Bags under his now dulling blue eyes from sleepless nights. He tried all he could to sleep at night, but he was too worried. About a week ago his father was admitted to the hospital for chest pains. After extensive testing the doctors found out Dad Egbert was more than just a little sick. They weren't quite sure what was wrong with him, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

John splashed cold water on his face, feeling the coldness seep into his skin. A soft vibration shot up through his back, his phone was going off. He pulled the device from his back pocket and looked at the screen. Rose, in a rather awful Christmas sweater, was lit up on his screen.

"Hello?"

"John? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, what's up?"

Rose sighed and cleared her throat, "I was just checking up on you. Dave told me what happened to your father, so naturally I was expressing my concerns to you."

John could only smile at her concern, "I'm perfectly fine, Rose. I just go back from the hospital and the doctors said that my dad should be okay enough to come home be Friday."

John ended the conversation and left his phone on the edge of the sink. He placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose, looking in the mirror.

The house seemed to quiet, there was no smell of Crocker cakes cooking, there no notes scattered around the house saying how much of a man John was becoming. But what hurt him the most was that he would probably never hear the words "I am so proud of you" ever again. John had lied to Rose. It was true that he had just returned from the hospital, but his father's condition was getting worse by the day. As of right now, Dad was hooked up to a machine John didn't know, and was being fed medication he never heard of. The doctors were doing all they could to keep him well, but it seemed that nothing was working. Since they couldn't target what was exactly wrong, they didn't know how to exactly help.

Taking his phone, he exited the bathroom and padded down the stairs. Today's weather was grey,almost like the clouds wanted to rain, but they just couldn't. Like John, he wanted to cry, but he had no tears left to shed.

The entire downstairs was dim from the lack of lights, John never bothered to turn them on anymore. He slipped on a pair of shoes and grabbed his jacket before heading out, leaving the door open behind him. He didn't know where he was gonna go, but he needed to get away from the house for a while.

Its not like Dad was dead, but it felt pretty damn close. John had always been close to his father. After his mother died a few months after John was born, he had only known his father. John's dad always tried to make up for his mother's absence, and he knew it. Every Christmas, Dad would go the extra mile to prove that he loved his son very much.

John's heart swelled with memories of his father, and before he could realize it, he was at the park swaying on a swing. One tear ran down his cheek; one turned to two, two turned four, and four turned into a sobbing mess.

He buried his face in his hands, sobbing loudly, not caring who heard him. As he cried, the sky cried with him. A light sprinkled turned to a downpour. John was soaked to the bone.

Shivering, he stood from the swing to start the long trek home. There was a loud crash behind him. John turned to see where the noise came from, but was knocked to the ground from the side. He rubbed the back of his head as he looked to see his attacker.

A fairly large white dog with piercing green eyes sat in front of him with its head cocked to the side.

"Get out of here you oversized mutt." John turned again to see Dave, or someone who resembled Dave saunter over to him and the dog.

The dog stood, its back hair standing on end, growled deeply at the new company.

"Oh, don't give me that. We are already late enough, now you had to run into this poor soul."

John stood, water dripping from his bangs, "Dave?" John's eyes focused on the tall male.

Slender, tall, and pale, it was definitely Dave, but something was off. He was dressed in a suit that had a heart patch on the breast pocket, a top hat that had rabbit ears protruding from it.

"That is my name, but I do not think that we have met before."

John's hopes crashed faster than a plane, "W-what? I was at your house last month."

"Ah, you have me confused with the other Dave." Dave- or 'Dave' swiped to grab the dog, but a green flash and the dog was gone, "Great, now its officially a chase." The rabbit-Strider hybrid ran off into a small patch of woods located behind the sad playground.

John didn't waste a second, he was on Strider's trail within seconds of him disappearing into the trees. He could hear thrashing and swearing come from a clearing up ahead.

When John stumbled through the bushes, Dave was pinning the dog on the muddy ground, "Stay mutt, for God's sake."

Dave stood with dog over his shoulder. From where John was, he could see the dog struggling to sink his fangs into Dave's gloved hand. The blond merely ignored it, and reached into his jacket pocket, retrieving a small red gear. The metal gear began to glow dimly as he tossed it to the ground.

As the gear expanded, the ground around it began to give out, and disappeared. Dave took a few steps back then plunged into the massive hole in the ground.

John didn't have time to think it all the way through. With a running start he dove into the now shrinking hole. A sharp scream slipped from his lips as he fell at incredible speeds.

Head over heals, he plummeted into the secrets that the darkness held.


End file.
